Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct; a draft came out in December. It was a rough draft and we’ve taken it out for public consultation and discussion, and we’re seeking feedback and input on that. Much of that has now come in.

On behalf of the steering committee, we’ve got a team of dedicated staff who are actually finalizing a draft. We will have the final product out on March 31st. We will have a draft done before that which, hopefully, we’ll have an opportunity to share and discuss with committee and other stakeholders.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently, corrections has psychologists at the North Slave Correctional Centre as well as the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre who provide mental health services to our inmates. The North Slave Correctional Centre psychologist is currently on maternity leave and is being covered by a contracted psychologist. We don’t have any psychiatrists within our facilities, but psychiatrists are available at Stanton Regional Hospital and corrections has links to those services through referrals, just like any other NWT resident.

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP are professionals. They have professionals who took care and control of the scene. As I have indicated, they are doing an investigation and the aspects of that investigation that can be shared will be shared. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The RCMP is investigating the accident and will determine a cause. If necessary, charges may or may not be laid. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

RCMP are familiar with their role under the Mental Health Act. It’s actually part of their training. On specifics, the types of training that they go through and how we ensure that they have that, I’ll get more information for the Member and committee on that. I did fail to indicate one psychologist position that we have at the North Slave Young Offenders Facility. We have a staff counsellor position or individual there who is in the process of obtaining her licence as a psychologist, under supervision of a licenced psychiatrist at Stanton. So we’re working on one more.

Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated, the RCMP is doing a thorough investigation into this incident. Once they have completed that investigation, after they have gathered all of the evidence and they’ve done all the analysis that needs to be done, what can be shared will be shared. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP will conduct their investigation and what can be made public will be made public. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Anecdotally, we know, from speaking to some of the inmates who have attended wilderness camps, that their experience in these camps makes them better able to take advantage of other programs that may be offered in our facilities, both in treatment within the facility and outside. One thing we need to remember, and I’ve already mentioned it, is that it’s very important that inmates are actively involved in their case management discussions, which may include opportunities to go out to these camps.

Camp experience can also be very advantageous, if you will, because it helps individuals prepare to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently in the Northwest Territories we only have one wilderness camp and that’s Kozo Lake camp in the South Slave. We have had a request from Fort Good Hope to actually re-engage and reconfirm the camp that used to be in the Fort Good Hope or Sahtu area. We are having those discussions. We believe that these camps are important and provide a valuable service, and we would like to see it up and running. We still have to work out some details on the specifics for the Fort Good Hope wilderness camp but we are doing that, and hope to have some progress there. With...

We do know that a significant portion of the inmates within our facilities are suffering from either addictions or mental health issues. As we’ve talked about already, the camps are an opportunity to help people deal with some of their personal issues and, obviously, in the long-term, reintegrate back into society.

Within our facilities here in the Northwest Territories, we do have specific programming, traditional programming, as well as some alcohol and drug programs in the facilities to help those individuals when they’re ready to start dealing with some of those challenges so that we can...